LANSDOWNE -- The noise escalated higher and higher, finally reaching a fever pitch when the dueling groups of cheerleaders squared off face-to-face near midcourt and screamed into each others' faces, determined to gain the perceived upper hand.

That crescendo served as a perfect foil for the feeling of uneasiness that crept through Penn Wood's Shoebox during the third quarter intermission. While the script for a notice-serving upset had been written, it had been scribbled in pencil, not pen, and that script was quickly being erased.

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The Patriots' fans knew it, the Patriots probably knew it, and as for the black jersey-clad Goliaths from Chester on the other bench? They definitely knew that what once seemed as close to a sure thing as it gets was slipping away.

"I've been a part of a lot of history on this team for four years, but I've never had that happen," Chester's Darius Robinson said.

"That" was the finishing touches that were placed on a 77-58 conquest of Penn Wood, a game in which the Clippers trailed by 10 at the half and trailed by five entering the fourth quarter. Then? How about a 35-11 fourth quarter that capped a 50-17 -- no, really -- blitzkrieg that turned the Patriots' once-promising upset bid into a rout whose score belied the competitiveness of the game between the two heated rivals.

Turns out it was the type of game that Chester (14-3, 6-0 Del Val) just knows how to win and the type of game that the young Patriots (11-5, 3-3) will need to learn to put away if they want to get back to the Clippers' level. Things looked great for Penn Wood early, especially when Jeff Padilioni dumped in two of his career-high 11 points to stretch the Patriots' lead to 43-29. It wasn't enough.

"Once we went into that press, I knew we were back," said Robinson, who tortured the Patriots yet again, this time with 19 points. "We ran off eight straight, they had to call timeout, then after the timeout we ran off another six. I knew we were back."

That initial run was all Robinson and reigning Daily Times Player of the Year Rondae Jefferson as Robinson mixed in a steal, a layup and a 3-pointer around four made free throws from Jefferson. Then came a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter, which begat an 11-0 run, which ultimately ceded the way to a 7-0 run to ice the game. The Clippers smelled blood in the water early in the fourth quarter, and by the time they were done collecting nine Penn Wood turnovers, the Patriots had been left shell-shocked and dismayed.

"We knew last game (in) the third quarter, they just demolished us," said Secean Johnson, who was superb for Penn Wood with 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. "So we knew this third quarter, we had to come out strong and the first four minutes, we did that. Then after that, it just started falling apart for us."

At the center of it all, literally and figuratively, was Chester center Richard Granberry. After only taking two shots in the first quarter, Granberry became the focal point of the Clippers' second-half halfcourt offense. He went 6-for-9 in the second half to cap his 15-point, seven-rebound, four-steal effort, and that combined with Jefferson's mind-boggling stat line of 25 points, 12 rebounds, eight steals, six assists and two blocks, were enough to send Chester sailing past the Patriots.

"(Clippers) Coach (Larry Yarbray) said at halftime to feed the post more, we're going to come out and give me the ball more so I can get some touches." Granberry said. "They didn't really do it in the first half, but it didn't really matter. We came out and played hard in the second half and got the W."

For his part, Tyree Bynum, Delco's leading scorer who was limited to six points, in large part because of early foul trouble, thinks Penn Wood can take a lot away from putting the Clippers on the ropes.

"It's real tough, but in districts, we're going to see them again in districts and we're going to know how to beat them," Bynum said. "It's going to be good."

It always is with Penn Wood and Chester.

In other Del Val action:Tyler Moralis hit a pair of free throws with 1:45 to give the Bucs (6-11, 1-5) the lead for good and Interboro shot 12-for-15 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to help the Bucs snap a seven-game losing skid.

Academy Park 66, Chichester 46Travis Smith did it all for the Knights (6-11, 2-4) with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Earl Hargrove dumped in 14 points to help AP avenge a loss to the Eagles in the teams' first meeting.

Ches-Mont LeagueDerek Pacchione saved the last two of his 12 points for last as he nailed the game-winning jumper with two ticks left on the clock and Kevin McGarvey posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to help the Vanguards (5-13, 1-8) counter an earlier loss to the Indians.

Sun Valley 48, Unionville 47

Catholic LeagueMike Louden led the charge for the Lions (6-10, 1-7) with 19 points and Sean Havink contributed 13 points, but O'Hara couldn't overcome a 36-20 halftime deficit and fell to the Crusaders.

Father Judge 68,

Cardinal O'Hara 56

NonleagueAustin Fischer sparked the Knights' offense with 16 points, John Reese added 12 and Ron Burrell chipped in 11, but DC (11-5) couldn't overcome being without a pair of starters in Austin Stephens and Henry Miller and sixth man Marcus Evans.

Shipley 62, Delco Christian 46

Yeadon native Zac Tillman led the Gators with 14 points.

Barrack Hebrew 43, Eliyahu Korn jumpstarted the Cougars with 14 points and Daniel Saltz added 13 as Barrack Hebrew fended off a late charge to hold on for the win.